Technology: Check This Out
Departments
Written by Matt Bolch   
Monday, 31 December 2007
Technology: Check This Out - American Executive - RedCoat Publishing
Sophisticated self-serve kiosks are quickly entering the mainstream—could they benefit your business?
Would you like fries with that?” The question was not posed by a fresh-scrubbed teenager behind a fast food counter but by a kiosk located on the counter.

If you haven’t had an experience such as this one already, chances are that you will soon. After many fits and starts over the past two decades, transactional and information kiosks finally appear to be making their way into the mainstream. Check-in kiosks are now commonplace at most airports, and major hotel chains such as Hilton Hotels Corp. are adopting the technology, as are grocery stores and other retailers, as a way to speed transactions.

According to a survey commissioned by NCR Corp., more than three-quarters of respondents in the US and Canada indicated they are more likely to do business with organizations that offer self-service options, a figure that climbs to 92% when mobile devices are combined with the Internet, kiosks, or ATMs to improve the overall service experience.

Companies that use kiosk technology can save on transactional costs and make more money through upselling, equipment manufacturers say. Airlines are saving between $2.00 and $4.30 per transaction by using kiosks instead of agents, said Monica Hachem, director of business development and marketing at NCR’s self-service group based in Duluth, Ga. NCR clients in the airline sector report additional revenue of between $2 million and $8 million a month through suggestive selling of seat upgrades, travel insurance, and other items.

“Airline check-in kiosks did a lot for the industry,” Hachem said. “With long security lines and the general craziness associated with air travel, people who aren’t ordinary adopters of new technology gave it a try.”

Nearly one in four consumers expressed a willingness to use time-saving self-service alternatives to help reduce their wait times, according to another survey conducted by NCR. Waiting in line at the department of motor vehicles ranked first among places people hate to wait, followed by checking out in a retail establishment, registering at clinics or hospitals, checking in for airline flights, and ordering at fast-food restaurants or deli counters.

Faster fast food
The fast-food category is the main focus of EMN8, which has more than 200 kiosks in pilot or rollout phases among 16 brands such as Arby’s, Taco Bell, Burger King, and Carl’s Jr., said Peter Boylan, vice president of the San Diego-based company. “People are becoming very accustomed to operating in a self-service world, with ATMS, pay-at-the-pump gas stations, and self-service copies at Kinko’s,” Boylan said.

Restaurant operators pay between $600 and $700 a month for each kiosk, an fee that includes development of the menu, integration with the restaurant’s existing point-of-sale system, hardware and software maintenance, and 24/7 support. Benefits include a $1 increase in average ticket price, speed of service increases, labor savings, better overall brand experience, lower food costs through higher order accuracy, and better cash management.

A typical deployment includes three kiosks: two on the front counter so customers can see the menu board and a third at a 45-degree angle to the secondary entrance door so customers entering that way easily can find a kiosk.

Boylan said franchisees aren’t replacing employees with technology because many can’t find enough qualified workers to begin with. “The market for kiosks is there, matching the needs of restaurant operators to hire people they need and to be profitable,” Boylan said. “Our model includes a host or hostess to greet and direct customers.”

Faster information
As consumers become more comfortable using technology in their everyday lives, self-service kiosks will compete for business with hand-held devices, the Internet, and even low-tech call centers, said Karen Sammon, president of the software division of ParTech Inc. in New Hartford, NY. In many quick-service restaurants, up to 70% of business is conducted through the drive through, which can limit the effectiveness of in-store kiosks.

But when used in the correct environment and for the right reasons, kiosks can make a business more efficient, said Sammon. “Informational kiosks, for example, can help restaurateurs manage their businesses better through hiring checklists, checking Social Security status, and checking the corporate database to track employees,” Sammon said. “They can reduce the up-front work a manager has to do.” She also said employees could use the devices for training purposes or to learn about the latest corporate initiatives.

ParTech offers a soup-to-nuts solution to kiosks, including hardware and support, implementation, and ongoing database management. The database management issue trips up many companies that buy a product but don’t do the ongoing work needed to keep that product relevant to users. How often have you visited a retail outlet where a kiosk has been pushed to a corner of the store and is gathering dust? Likely it’s because of a lack of technical support or failure to keep information current.

But as ATMs have become the preferred banking method for millions of customers, the use of self-service devices has become second nature to many people. “The ATM just celebrated its 40th anniversary, but adoption took a decade or longer,” said Pete Charpentier, product line director at NCR. “We’re seeing faster and faster adoption. Self check-out only took three to five years.”

Charpentier said that the quick-serve restaurant industry is in the early phases of adoption, with consumers more ready to use the technology than companies are willing to make the organizational changes necessary to wring maximum benefits from it. The travel, retail, and medical/healthcare industries are farther along the adoption curve, he noted.

The Human Factors group within NCR can help clients achieve those benefits through machine placement, signage, traffic flow, and business impact modeling, but Charpentier stresses there must be a compelling business reason to use self-serve options.

“The machine has to be intuitive so the customer can understand it and not have a bad experience,” Charpentier said. “The information must be kept current and interesting, and the hardware and software should be monitored to ensure it’s in working order.”

“But most of all, a company must internalize it to make sure the business and the customer most benefit.”

Matt Bolch, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , is a freelance writer based in Atlanta.
 
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